30/05/2025

FRIDAY | MAY 30, 2025

28

SPORTS

Big names crash out … but Italians shine on damp day at French Open I TALIANS Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti lit up a damp day at Roland Garros by moving into the French Open third good. I’m just happy about the performance,” said Paolini.

Emma Raducanu. – REUTERSPIC

Monte Carlo and semifinalist in Madrid and Rome, overcame patchy weather to extend his recent successes on clay. “It was a solid performance from the beginning until the end,” said Musetti, whose confidence has soared since reaching the Monte Carlo final last month. After that, I felt like another player. The results in Madrid and Rome confirmed this step forward.” He was joined in the next round by Gigante, who beat 2021 runner-up and 20th seed Tsitsipas 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, leaving the Greek player blaming his own immaturity after his earliest French Open exit in seven years.

Musetti continued his claycourt resurgence with a clinical 6-4, 6-0, 6-4 dismantling of Colombian lucky loser Daniel Galan on Court Simonne Mathieu. The eighth seed, a finalist i n

round with stirring victories while twice runner-up Casper Ruud made a shock exit on Wednesday. Unheralded Matteo Gigante kept the Italian tricolour flying high in the afternoon with the biggest win of his career as the qualifier sent former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas tumbling out of the year’s second Grand Slam. Defending champion

Alcaraz has a wise head on his shoulders at 22 and showed plenty of composure in a tricky situation on his return to Court Philippe Chatrier to seal a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over

Carlos Alcaraz endured a minor scare but got

EMMA RADUCANU said she felt “exposed” by Iga Swiatek as the four-time French Open champion improved her winning record against the Briton to 5-0 with a one-sided 6-1, 6-2 victory at Roland Garros. Raducanu said the nature of her latest defeat to Swiatek highlighted the “holes” in her game on clay and felt the difference in experience played a part during the second-round match. While Swiatek has won the last three titles in Paris, winning 23 matches in a row, Raducanu was playing on Court Philippe-Chatrier for the first time and struggled to assert herself. “It was tough. I think in the beginning of the match it was pretty tight. As it went on, I think she grew in confidence. I just felt a bit exposed. It was a difficult one,” Raducanu said. “It was the first time playing a match on that court. It’s also different when it’s filled and it’s got everything around. You do feel like it is a big court. And it’s different and it’s new for me. “It’s a surrounding that she’s obviously very comfortable with and she’s played in it a lot of times. I think that did emphasise me feeling a bit uncomfortable. But it’s a good experience for if I ever play on that court again.” Swiatek had struggled for form coming into the French Open after not reaching a final since last year’s title-winning run at Roland Garros, but the 23-year-old’s heavy top-spin forehand remains a huge weapon. “You just don’t really feel like there is that much space on the court, and certain moments you overhit, because you just feel constant pressure,” Raducanu explained. “I definitely think I can improve certain areas of my game to maybe make me feel like I have less holes. I’m just going to try my best to work on that.” – AFP Raducanu felt ‘exposed’ by Swiatek in RG thrashing

past

unseeded

Hungarian Marozsan before women’s title holder Iga Swiatek dismantled Briton Emma Raducanu to keep her bid for a sixth major title on track. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka started off on the wrong foot before trampling Swiss Jil Teichmann into the Parisian red clay while fellow Grand Slam champion Elena Rybakina mowed down wild card Iva Jovic. Fourth seed Paolini, Fabian

Lorenzo Musetti. – AFPPIC

Marozsan, who beat him

in

Rome

two

years ago. “I’ve done really

great things on this court. I’ve had great moments and some bad moments, which I’ve learned from,” he said. “I love playing here. It fits pretty well with my tennis, every time I step on this court I show good tennis.” Seventh seed Ruud has also enjoyed his Roland Garros centre court outings after twice making the final but his latest quest for a maiden major title unravelled as he fell 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to Portugal’s Nuno Borges. China’s Zheng Qinwen powered past Emiliana Arango of Colombia 6-2, 6-3. She faces Canadian 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko, who extended her fairytale run with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Germany’s Eva Lys in her Grand Slam debut. Swiatek made light work of former US Open champion Emma

a surprise runner-up last year, barely put a foot wrong on Court Philippe Chatrier as she brushed aside Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-3 after paying homage to the venue’s greatest champion Rafa Nadal. The diminutive Italian, who trains with Nadal’s former mentor Marc Lopez, touched the newly installed footprint of the Spanish great on centre court before delivering a polished display in front of a sparse crowd. “It was great

Raducanu, sealing a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Sabalenka was broken early in her match with Swiss Teichmann but found her range to complete a 6-3, 6-1 win.

to play again there. It’s an amazing court and I’m happy how I p l a y e d , because I played better than the first r o u n d which is

Kazakh Rybakina won 6-3, 6-3 against American Jovic, whose compatriot Caroline Dolehide was beaten 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 by 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko. – Reuters

Jasmine Paolini. – REUTERSPIC

Nelly chasing first win of 2025

Woods wins maiden AJGA title CHARLIE WOODS, the 16-year old son of golfing great Tiger Woods, earned his first American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) win yesterday with a three-shot victory at the Team TaylorMade Invitational in Bowling Green, Florida. Woods, playing in his fifth After a birdie-bogey start, Woods grabbed the solo lead late on the outward nine with four birdies over a sizzling five-hole stretch. He then built a three-shot cushion with birdies at the 11th and 12th holes, dropped a shot at the 13th but responded

NELLY KORDA ranks No. 1 in the world despite being without a win on the LPGA Tour halfway through the season but insists there’s no added pressure for a breakthrough at the Women’s US Open at Erin Hills Golf Club in Wisconsin this week. “I don’t try and think about it,” said Korda, who had seven wins in 16 events and claimed a major championship at the Chevron Championship in 2024. “Definitely when you’re a higher-ranked player or you’re more popular there is more pressure on you just from outside perspective when it comes to media, fans coming out to watch you play.

than 22nd with three top-10 finishes in six events. She said the season to date has been “interesting” but insisted she feels grateful and embraces the position this week at an event known for trying patience. “It’s big,” said Korda. “Some weeks it’s so much easier to be patient than others. It just depends on kind of the mindset and how you’re feeling mentally. But it plays a really big role. Sometimes you can get ahead of yourself, and as I’ve said in the past, staying in the moment is really, really important for me.” – Field Level Media

“If you want to feel it, you will feel it, but I think what’s really important is just kind of sticking to your game plan and being really focused on what you’re doing present time, and that’s really helped me.” Korda was propelled to the Rolex Player of the Year honor by a streak of five wins in a row in 2024. She is chasing her first Women’s US Open title on the heels of her second top-5 finish this season at the Mizuho Americas Open. As the world rankings underscore, Korda’s results can hardly be classified as struggling. She’s finished no worse

immediately with a birdie at the 298-yard, par-four 14th where he drove the green. He closed out his round with four consecutive pars. Before this week, Woods’s best result on the AJGA circuit was a share of 25th place at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in March. – Reuters

AJGA event, began the final round one shot behind overnight leader Luke Colton and mixed two bogeys with eight birdies for a 6-under-par 66 on the Black Course at Streamsong Resort that brought him to 15-under on the week.